Power Chords ( Fifth Chords)

Power Chords are an important aspect of playing rock/metal guitar and they are probably one the easiest chords to play. These chords are very versatile as they can provide a harmonic texture to most songs and can be played anywhere on the neck of the guitar.

The power chords are also commonly known as the fifth chords and are usually denoted like this – G5 , C5, D5 etc… It consists of a root and a perfect 5th interval and can be derived from the major. The root (note that determines name of the chord) is the lowest note that is played. To illustrate this, let’s use the C major scale to derive the C5 power chord.

major chords major and minor chords

The C5 power chord contains 2 notes : C & G and this is how they would look like on tablature.

Power Chord Fifth Chords Tablature Format

Try playing the C power chord with both 2 notes and 3 notes. In the 3 notes form of the power chord, the root note is play with an octave for a fuller and sharper sounding tone. If you want your power chords to sound heavier, stick with the 2 notes power chord. Power chords are often played on the thicker strings (5th & 6th) with distortion to give it the extra crunch and rock sound.

How to hold power chords

For the 2 notes power chord, you should ideally use your index finger to fret the root note and place your pinky finger to fret the other.

5th string 2 Notes Power Chord 6th string 2 Notes Power Chord

From the top view, the 2 notes power chords looks like this.

6th string 2 Notes Power Chord Top View

For the 3 notes power chord, should use the index to fret the root note, ring finger and pinky to fret the rest as shown in the diagrams below.

5th string 3 Notes Power Chord 6th string 3 Notes Power Chord

Alternatively, you can hold a minor barre chord and by just strumming ONLY the bottom 3 strings you will also get the power chord.

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Tips:

Middle Finger Mute Power Chord

When playing power chords on the 5th string, take note of how I am using my middle finger to mute the 6th string. Simply rest your middle finger on the 6th string and it will really help in getting the tone of your power chords by eliminating unwated noise.

6th string 3 Notes Power Chord

Notice how my index finger is curled? I have used the curled index finger to fret only the root note while muting the rest of the higher strings with the bottom part of my index finger. Again, this will eliminate unwantwed sounds during strumming of the power chords.

Power Chords Exercise

In a nutshell, playing power chords is very much similar to playing barre chords and they are movable chords which make chord switching really fast. Now, let’s head to the practice! The first exercise is actually to get you fingers used to changing power chords. In this exercise, take note that all the notes that should be played are sounded clearly whereas those notes that are supposed to be muted stay muted when you are changing chords.